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Post by basser on Feb 7, 2012 13:44:15 GMT
.. the headmaster has been at the court longer. Not necessarily. The exact wording was "The headmaster has spent more of his life at the Court than Jones has" (emphasis mine). Which in true Tom style could just as easily mean that he's spent a greater fraction of his life there than Jones has of her life. As in, if the headmaster is 60 years old and spent 45 of those years at the Court he would have spent a greater portion of his life there than Jones even if she's been there for 300 years because she appears to be essentially immortal. Three centuries out of ten thousand would amount to a tiny fraction of her life, so the headmaster would technically have spent "more of his life" at the Court than she has of hers. Hope that makes sense..
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Post by Dvandaemon on Feb 7, 2012 17:45:11 GMT
Just glad to know that I am not the only one that thought of Galatea.
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Post by grahamf on Feb 7, 2012 18:57:49 GMT
.. the headmaster has been at the court longer. Not necessarily. The exact wording was "The headmaster has spent more of his life at the Court than Jones has" (emphasis mine). Which in true Tom style could just as easily mean that he's spent a greater fraction of his life there than Jones has of her life. As in, if the headmaster is 60 years old and spent 45 of those years at the Court he would have spent a greater portion of his life there than Jones even if she's been there for 300 years because she appears to be essentially immortal. Three centuries out of ten thousand would amount to a tiny fraction of her life, so the headmaster would technically have spent "more of his life" at the Court than she has of hers. Hope that makes sense..
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Post by Georgie L on Feb 7, 2012 22:01:04 GMT
Wouldn't it make more sense that Jones literally has stayed for less time in the court than the headmaster. She could have been wandering about till (somewhat) recently.
Also tom doesn't specify it was all one one go that she spent the time in the court, she could just kind of come and go every now and again.
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Post by basser on Feb 8, 2012 3:29:52 GMT
Wouldn't it make more sense that Jones literally has stayed for less time in the court than the headmaster. She could have been wandering about till (somewhat) recently. Also tom doesn't specify it was all one one go that she spent the time in the court, she could just kind of come and go every now and again. True. It just seems like something Tom would do to give us an answer that at first glance appears to give concrete data about a character only to have it actually be completely meaningless upon closer inspection. He's the master of exploiting assumptions and being vague.
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Post by oceloth on Feb 10, 2012 5:45:14 GMT
I think I've got this Jones thing all figured out. Jones is clearly January Jones (best known for playing Betty Draper in Mad Men as well as the wife of Liam Neeson in that one movie they were in recently). If not literally the same individual, then at least they are of a kind. That is to say, whatever January Jones is, Jones is the same thing. Admittedly, this theory may just raise more questions than it answers, but it makes SO MUCH SENSE. Just consider: ~Both appear human, yet their demeanor makes them seem clearly non-human. ~Both appear capable of understanding and even imitating human emotion, although both apparently do not experience them. ~They both have the appearance of attractive, blonde women. ~They share a name, suggesting some sort of connection. Compare: Of course, we do not know if January Jones shares Jones' remarkable abilities vis a vis wall-breaking, supernatural sword-fighting, et cetera, et cetera, but it is certainly plausible that January Jones is merely hiding these aspects of herself in order to maintain her public facade as an actress. Or, January Jones just might not share Jones' knack for that kind of thing. Although, apparently January Jones does swim like a normal human being, which kind of goes against this theory. At the very least, January Jones would be the ideal choice to play Jones in a hypothetical live-action adaptation of Gunnerkrigg Court.
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Post by Georgie L on Feb 10, 2012 20:06:46 GMT
At the very least, January Jones would be the ideal choice to play Jones in a hypothetical live-action adaptation of Gunnerkrigg Court. My god she literally looks like the same person. apart from that the rest of your theory was a teeny tiny bit crackpot.
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Post by Raph on Feb 10, 2012 22:42:04 GMT
I like her as January Jones, but it is known Tom bases his characters upon songs (Awkward Annie, Sir Eglamore), for example. Why not an actress as well?
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Post by oceloth on Feb 11, 2012 7:50:24 GMT
Yes, Georgie L, just a tiny bit crackpot.
I suppose I should say that I am offering this theory tongue firmly in cheek, so to speak. But also at least half seriously, as I do so badly wish for it to be true.
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Post by grahamf on Feb 28, 2012 20:27:54 GMT
One thing I should note (But I can't find the page numbers)
When Annie mentioned to Kat that she thinks Jones is a robot, Kat correcter her by saying that robots that look like humans are called cyborgs.
Annie asked Jones if she was a robot, not a cyborg.
It's possible that Jones makes the same distinction as Kat.
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Post by Per on Apr 18, 2012 21:06:15 GMT
Jones...
... sometimes needs to make phone calls. ... has no problems remembering lots of phone numbers. ... can feel something akin to "..." when her phone is purloined.
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thatkid
New Member
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Post by thatkid on Apr 18, 2012 22:14:35 GMT
Given Jones' stony demeanor, the fact that she's apparently conventionally attractive, her apparent resistance to edged attacks, her apparent strength, her weight, and the implied long-life span...
Is it possible that Jones is some kind of golem, or animated statue?
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Post by Georgie L on Apr 18, 2012 22:53:13 GMT
I think tom has already stated somewhere that she isn't a golem, robot, cyborg or animated statue.
When asked whether she was from another mythology he said he invented her (this doesn't necassarily mean she is a whole new creature.)
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maximkat
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Post by maximkat on Apr 19, 2012 1:54:19 GMT
My guess is that she is either some kind of avatar or an agent/observer of a higher being/force. But that's based mostly on what Coyote called her.
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Sivo
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Post by Sivo on Apr 27, 2012 16:49:00 GMT
I wonder if it's possible she may be more like Antimony and Surma. Whereas those two harbor a fiery personality, Jones is more like a rock. That's right, I'm implying that she's partially an *earth elemental*, placing her in an interesting position of bridging the Forest and the Court.
This isn't a flawless theory though, as I'm not sure it completely touches on her power-levels and presumably shifting spy-like identity. She implied she could force Coyote to release Annie, and I can't fathom the strength of someone able to force the paw of the same being that literally brought the moon down.
EDIT: This leads to an extended theory that she may be an aspect of Gaia (which is a stretch since there's no mention of this goddess-figure in Gunnerkrigg Court yet), since she's potentially more powerful than even Coyote, but oddly neutral. What could be more neutral than an avatar for the planet?
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Post by soleyfir on May 2, 2012 17:41:57 GMT
Hello everybody, Well I discovered this webcomic yesterday and I've just finished reading it so I decided to take a look at what's going on down in this forum. And as was scrolling this thread an idea sprung to me about the nature of Jones.
First there are several things that we know about Jones that have been listed in this thread and in the previous link to Word of Tom. One thing that's a bit odd is the amount of knowledge other people have about her. From what we've seen, Ysengrim, Renard and Coyote have a rough idea of what she is, yet even the latter doesn't exactly know her true nature. You may say that makes her a being so complex that even transcendal beings fail to grasp everything about her. But it strikes me that the other people in Gunnerkrigg Court's administration also share what appears to be the same level of knowledge as Coyote from what is hinted at by Tom. One thing we might deduce from this is that Jones' nature is special enough that nobody fully have knowledge of it yet it is still something that can be explained in a way to people. Enough so that Ysengrim could make Annie understand it and so that people in the Court respect her and take advice from her.
Then there's her philosophy of life that is quite special, let's see: -She's perfectly objective and wants to hear every side of a story before making a decision. -She refuses to interfere, even when she has the power to (like when Ysengrim attacked Annie). -She always keeps the same face. -Her favorite thing is "discovery" and seems to keep an eye at everything that's happening on the Court. -She shows a lot of interest of what has been lost in the path, but insists that she wants the complete story because fragments can be misleading.
Now, when I look at this, it reminds me a lot of the kind of philosophy that would perfectly fill in the job description of what we call a judge. You know, that guy that is sworn to impartiality and to finding out the truth about a case, usually after hearing the two parties and without directly interfering with the situation.
So I'm thinking that she could be some kind of avatar of Order or Justice. Coyote calling her "Wandering Eye" seem to point out that she is a special being that is close to being in par with him in terms of powers. Well we've had mythological creatures, gods and even French literature characters, and none of them quite seemed to match the way we usually see them. So why not have in Jones some kind of allegory of Justice that roams the world, taking different shapes and different names over the time but always looking for the truth and upholding its principles. This kind of being would be of an origin alien to Coyote and the others so no one would clearly know its nature, but in the same time everyone can get an understanding of its function.
Well it's kind of crackpot especially since it doesn't explain much but I think it fits pretty well what we know about Jones. If we follow with this line of thought the unusual weight thing could be related to the whole concept of balance and weight in Justice but I may be starting to go too far here. But anyways, those were just a few thoughts about it and I hope you have as much fun reading them that I had making them.
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Post by rafk on May 29, 2012 5:29:27 GMT
A minor point I don't recall seeing:
Coyote seems surprised to learn that Jones is now calling itself/herself "Jones".
But Jones was called Jones when Surma and Eglamore were students, and had been at Court long enough in some capacity that Eglamore wanted her to be in the photo when the gang completed school.
Either Jones was keeping a very low profile (and Surma never mentioned her to the forest ever) or Jones was not "Wandering Eye" at the time.
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Post by anaheyla on May 29, 2012 7:36:55 GMT
Incoming. Totally random guess:
Jones is called Wandering Eye because that's what she is. Coyote was juggling his eyes one day and he accidentally dropped one. He couldn't see well enough to find where it had fallen, so he just replaced it like he did with his tooth and his eye somehow took a life of its own. Maybe he decided to make it alive for a laugh.
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Post by Georgie L on May 29, 2012 9:29:30 GMT
Doesn't quite work after seeing all other evidence being against it. And Coyote having plenty more than just the two eyes in his head there are eyes (that move and work) all over his body.
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psykeout
Junior Member
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Post by psykeout on May 30, 2012 14:28:09 GMT
Ok guys hi. I've lurked around the forums a bit and I've skimmed through this thread, but I haven't been around the forums a lot, so it's possible that anything I say in the following post may have already been brought up somewhere, or even disproven by general consensus or Word of God. I'm slightly surprised that this hasn't been mentioned before (which means it probably HAS been mentioned before), but has no one connected Jones to Hathor yet? Egyptian Mythology is large and confusing, and hard to study, so there aren't a lot of well known myths, and there is perhaps even less consensus reached on the nature of the myths as they are translated, but there is one myth that is fairly relevant to the Wandering Eye. For those not familiar with Hathor, she was the Egyptian godess of love, beauty, music, dance, motherhood and joy. She was also responsible for welcoming dead into the next life (which would make her a possible psychopomp, if she were in the comic). She is often associated with cows. You can read about her on wikipedia. She is considered to be the wife, daughter, sister, and/or lover of Ra, the Sun God. She is also sometimes referred to as the eye of Ra, which would closely associate her with the sun, as well as the kind of the gods(' eye). In one particular myth, she leaves Ra (for whatever reason) and goes wandering about Egypt, which was sad for everyone because she was the goddess of joy and love and people like that stuff. During this period, she is referred to as the "wandering goddess" in some contexts. Ra sent some gods to her (in the form of baboons) to bring her back. They promised her merriment and celebration and booze and she came back. Egyptian mythology being as cloudy as it is, Tom could take any character/myth and easily use plenty of artistic license to twist it around however he needed to, while still managing to be true to the original myth. Not that I would know, but the egyptian figure here may be hathor. Not that that's exceedingly relevant. How Hathor could be related to Jones: Jones is the Wandering Eye, and Hathor was Ra's eye, and the Wandering Goddess. (she has a few titles that refer to her as an eye of some sort). Pretty much the clearest connection of "Wandering Eye" to any myth. If this IS the case, I propose that Jones is the wandering goddess, except she never came back. Possibly she has abdicated her divine form to be a mortal, or perhaps several reincarnations of a mortal spirit, or SOMETHING. The point being, she'd be fallen goddess, straddling the line between being of the etherum and Normal McNormalface Jones has just a bit of a tan going on. Possibly Egyptian. Jones knows Egyptian. Hathor was the goddess of love. Jones has been observed to play matchmaker, as well as attract the romantic intentions of Randy (and probably eggy) Jones, as a fallen Egyptian Goddess, would not be particularly allied with the court, but would also have no business in the forest. Coyote would respect her enough as an etherical being to allow her in the forest, especially if she was a ex-guide, but not have any particular ties to her. A fallen goddess could certainly logically possess superhuman strength (being that that is a relatively tame power for someone in this comic to have when teenagers can teleport and shuffle cards). The sun is an incredibly dense ball of gaseous matter, so a being who was the sun could logically be expected to be very dense, as Jones appears to be. Jones is a very Egyptian name. (This is a joke) Theory: Jones appears to do what she pleases and doesn't look for any trouble. Perhaps she grew tired or annoyed with being a goddess, and wanted to seek a less glamorous and simple life as a human, and is contented to be left to herself and not bothered by more etheric issues. Maybe she is even "seeking refuge" from the more etherical things in the world by staying in The Court, possibly the least etheric place one can live. Maybe The Court allows her to stay, in exchange for a loose employment, where she would be asked to help in negotiations and tactical advising and information, in which case the Court would have to keep her informed, but not necessarily give her any information she wants, such as the origin of the court. Begrudging edit- I think tom has already stated somewhere that she isn't a golem, robot, cyborg or animated statue. When asked whether she was from another mythology he said he invented her (this doesn't necassarily mean she is a whole new creature.) Glad I spent the last 20 minutes writing this post. I had even made it so I had 55555 characters remaining.
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Post by imaginaryfriend on May 30, 2012 15:43:04 GMT
Helllo! A Jones/Hathor connection has been discussed on the forum but I think it was in the numbered threads and not here. I like it because (if I remember right) there was an important temple to Hathor in Egypt, associated with Aphrodite, with a famous icon that was often consulted for advice. And that ties in with my long-standing Jones-is-some-variation-on-Galatea theory. ;D
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edguy
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Post by edguy on May 30, 2012 16:16:36 GMT
-- She is considered to be the wife, daughter, sister, and/or lover of Ra, the Sun God. She is also sometimes referred to as the eye of Ra, which would closely associate her with the sun, as well as the kind of the gods(' eye). -- This is pretty much not relevant at all, I'm pretty sure the song is actually about Stargate or something, but I thought I'd share this song with you: Star One - The Eye of RaIt's pretty amazing, at least if you're into proggy music like that, and has some interesting lyrics. Anyways, I like the theory, and good job on the evidence collection. Might have something to it!
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Post by GK Sierra on May 30, 2012 17:39:39 GMT
I've personally been partial to the earth elemental theory, but I think Tom has a grander explanation in mind than that.
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Post by Mezzaphor on May 31, 2012 0:14:59 GMT
Tom said, deep in one of those "Questions for Tom" threads, that the Egyptian figure there is Neith.
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Post by diztrakted on Jun 11, 2012 6:05:43 GMT
A minor point I don't recall seeing: Coyote seems surprised to learn that Jones is now calling itself/herself "Jones". But Jones was called Jones when Surma and Eglamore were students, and had been at Court long enough in some capacity that Eglamore wanted her to be in the photo when the gang completed school. Either Jones was keeping a very low profile (and Surma never mentioned her to the forest ever) or Jones was not "Wandering Eye" at the time. There's another option: Wandering Eye only became Jones relatively recently. i.e., this very good catch by rafk actually allows us to deduct that Wandering Eye is a LOT older than she looks, not just 20 years older than she looks. Tom just doesn't want us to know that yet, or at least wants to keep us guessing. Also, I thought her density would become a bigger deal. She weighs a LOT. Like, I think Tom was being nice to the bed; 600 lbs or so, maybe half a ton. This, along with the body modification references makes me think she's like Envy from Full Metal Alchemist: a physically very large being in a far too small package. Edit: other people caught the phrasing on the headmaster question... I'm pretty sure that's Tom making sure we don't know by answering the question in an artfully useless way. More importantly, she doesn't have to overpower Coyote to have him be unable to stop her. She simply has to be immune to him. She might not be able to touch him either, they simply play on different fields. To extend that thought: she may be an entirely physical being, lacking an etheric existence. This could be related to her extreme density.
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Post by rafk on Jun 12, 2012 4:19:09 GMT
Jones could also be mistaken about her ability to take Annie from Coyote. She's not omniscient. I wonder if she knew about Coyote's time stop (or could have done anything about it if she'd had forewarning).
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Post by TBeholder on Jun 12, 2012 16:05:52 GMT
Just glad to know that I am not the only one that thought of Galatea. That was just cute limestone. Now, if Pygmalion worked with spring bronze (at least)... Either Jones was keeping a very low profile (and Surma never mentioned her to the forest ever) or Jones was not "Wandering Eye" at the time. "Surma can't stand her". Coyote couldn't fail to see her on that meeting, but she wasn't formally introduced and he didn't say anything in the others' presence. But then, why this should be the first time? He could see her before that, but in circumstances not allowing a nice private chat. Or maybe not, and Coyote's question was merely about "Ms. Jones" vs. "Jones" - she insists on correcting this for some reason. Jones could also be mistaken about her ability to take Annie from Coyote. She's not omniscient. Yes, but she still had reasons to believe she can, and Coyote didn't argue much.
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Post by Lightice on Jun 12, 2012 17:45:11 GMT
Jones could also be mistaken about her ability to take Annie from Coyote. She's not omniscient. I wonder if she knew about Coyote's time stop (or could have done anything about it if she'd had forewarning). Jones doesn't need to be more powerful than Coyote in order to take Annie from him. She only needs to get him into a situation where he would have to break his word to get her, and there are many ways to achieve that. I generally don't like speculation about "power levels", since world (or good fiction) just doesn't work like that. A devastating, state of the art tank can be destroyed by a 50 cent Molotov coctail in the right conditions. World's greatest martial artist might get beaten by a common thug with a crowbar, if he's in an unfavourable position.
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edguy
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Post by edguy on Jun 12, 2012 21:33:42 GMT
I generally don't like speculation about "power levels", since world (or good fiction) just doesn't work like that. A devastating, state of the art tank can be destroyed by a 50 cent Molotov coctail in the right conditions. World's greatest martial artist might get beaten by a common thug with a crowbar, if he's in an unfavourable position. QFT.
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Post by GK Sierra on Jun 12, 2012 22:56:52 GMT
Jones could also be mistaken about her ability to take Annie from Coyote. She's not omniscient. I wonder if she knew about Coyote's time stop (or could have done anything about it if she'd had forewarning). Jones doesn't need to be more powerful than Coyote in order to take Annie from him. She only needs to get him into a situation where he would have to break his word to get her, and there are many ways to achieve that. I generally don't like speculation about "power levels", since world (or good fiction) just doesn't work like that. A devastating, state of the art tank can be destroyed by a 50 cent Molotov coctail in the right conditions. World's greatest martial artist might get beaten by a common thug with a crowbar, if he's in an unfavourable position. I don't know about the newer models, they're pretty close to indestructible. Analogies aside, I agree. DBZ this aint. The only person (being?) I would really attach a "power level" to is Coyote, and he's off the charts. I think it will be primarily a battle of wits, although a Coyote vs. Jones hoedown would be freakin' sweet. I get the impression that its really all up to Antimony. She's the medium and though various actors can try to force her hand, but in the end they don't dare harm her because she's a rare commodity.
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